The meeting between VHP and some Hindu religious groups is being held in Maha Kumbh to discuss Narendra Modi's prime minister candidature for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.Political leaders are using this opportunity to send the right message to their constituencies.

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and expressed his unhappiness over the Centre's refusal to provide gas to the state at the same price at which it is given to Mumbai and Delhi.

"It was a very good meeting and we had a long discussion during which several different issues came up. The prime minister gave his good wishes for the development of Gujarat and the success of the new government. I gave an assurance that Gujarat will give full support to all measures taken for the welfare of the people," Modi said.

He was talking to reporters after an over hour-long meeting with PM Manmohan Singh at his residence. This was Modi's first meeting with Singh after his victory in the Gujarat Assembly elections in December last

While BJP chief Rajnath Singh is also in Allahabad and will meet VHP leaders on Wednesday, Modi is likely to attend on February 12. This will be Modi's first visit to a Hindu pilgrimage site since becoming CM

Top leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party, RSS and VHP will reaffirm its Hindutva roots ahead of 2014 elections at Maha Kumbh.

VHP's religious congregation holds significance in the wake of the RSS-BJP-VHP meeting last week where a decision was taken to emphasise their Hindutva commitment against the "vote-bank politics" of the Congress, particularly after Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde's Hindu terror remarks.

"Hindtuva and good governance are our key differentiators," said a BJP source after the meeting. Modi's Kumbh visit appears to be part of this balancing act.

Modi's visit comes at a time when the chorus within the BJP for declaring him party's prime ministerial candidate has grown loud, making NDA members like JD(U) nervous and resulting in a gag order on the issue by BJP president Rajnath Singh.

Even VHP leader Ashok Singhal had aired his opinion that Modi should be declared as the prime ministerial candidate.

BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, reacting to the opposition on sadhus discussing the name of prime ministerial candidate, had said, "If saints will not discuss the name of prime ministerial candidates, will Hafeez Saeed (Pakistan based terrorist heading Laskhar-i-Toiba) decide about it."

"I will only say the VHP is committed to helping the Hindus achieve what is their due," he told reporters here when asked about the possibility of VHP pitching for Modi as BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate.

"As stated on a number of occasions, we favour a Hindutvavadi Parliament sensitive to the majority community's needs," the VHP international working president said.

On persistent queries on Modi, Togadia quipped "may be this is a question that Rajnath Singh will like to answer." On VHP leader Ashok Singhal calling Modi "Hindu Hriday Samrat", he said "we are engaged in a collective effort. This is not the time to ponder over personal likes and dislikes".

The VHP core committee has been holding intensive discussions at the Maha kumbh here and a number of issues have been identified as crucial for uplift of the Hindus, Togadia said.

"The construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya obviously tops the list," the firebrand VHP leader said. "We are mulling over a course of action to thwart the proposed reservation for Muslims, a measure driven by politics of vote-bank and minority appeasement," he said.

"A meeting of our Kendriya Margadarshak Mandal (Central Advisory Committee) tomorrow and the Dharm Sansad on February seven here will deliberate on these issues," he said.

Hindutva agenda is back

The shift back to the Hindutva plank as a political agenda comes after Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde made his controversial "saffron terror" remark . The Sangh views shinde's remark as a Congress attempt to consolidate minority votes and therefore RSS sees an opportunity to consolidate the Hindu vote.

BJP president Rajnath Singh will take part in the once-in-12-years event with a holy dip in the Ganga on Wednesday, which is coinciding with the the opening day of a two-day meeting of coordination meeting of the BJP, RSS and VHP, in which the Sangh Parivar outfits that will pass resolutions Ayodhya including condemning "motivated charges" of Hindu terror.VHP accused the BJP of abandoning the Ram Temple movement.

Meanwhile, sources in the Vishwa Hindu Parishad claim that a number of top BJP leaders, including Modi himself, may attend the meeting of VHP's Kendriya Margadarshak Mandal on February 6 or a Sant Sammelan on February 7.

Yesterday, VHP leader Ashok Singhal had stressed on the need for having people "sensitive towards Hindus" in the Parliament, though he had evaded a comment on projecting Modifor the top post.
VHP strongman Pravin Togadia is known to share cold vibes with Modi, but the Gujarat Chief Minister is hailed by many in the Sangh as 'Hindu Hriday Samrat (Ruler of Hindu Heart)'.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said he had come to take a holy dip in the Sangam at the ongoing Maha Kumbh congregation. "I will also offer prayer with the wish that the people of the country get rid of a corrupt and insensitive government."

JD(U) not in favour of MODI

JD(U) is not in favour of Modi , Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that the NDA's prime ministerial candidate should be a "secular face" .

Janata Dal (United) national spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari, in an apparent dig at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad over supporting Modi, has said that political parties, and not sadhus, would decide the prime ministerial candidate of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

"Political parties are to decide who they will project as the prime ministerial candidate in the election campaign. How can sadhus take this decision? Where are you taking the politics of this country?" said Mr Tiwari in Patna

Ramdev bats for Narendra Modias PM

Ramdev who arrived at the ongoing Maha Kumbh congregation on a week-long tour, said that "Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is the best choice for prime minister's post after seeing the present scenario of India ".